Elon Musk has kept his promise and released an update that changes the blocking feature on X (Twitter). Starting today, blocking will not work as expected if your profile is public. This means that if you make a post, anyone can read it, including those you have blocked.
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A post on the help site explains the purpose of X-blocking. The company has removed the sentence that stated, “This feature helps people restrict specific accounts from seeing their posts.” The latest version explains that X-blocking is meant to help you manage how you interact with other accounts on the platform.
“If your posts are set to public, accounts you’ve blocked can see your posts. However, they can’t interact (like, reply, repost, etc.) with your posts,” says X. “If your posts are set to protected, blocked accounts won’t be able to see your posts, as they are only displayed to your followers.”
The social network stated earlier this week that these blocking changes are part of a commitment to transparency. According to X, some users were misusing the feature to share and conceal harmful or private information about people they had blocked. Right-wing activists, like Andy Ngo, highlighted that extremist accounts were abusing the blocking feature to stop others from reporting tweets or writing Community Notes.
Blocking on X (Twitter) didn’t make sense for public profiles, Musk says.
He has been hinting at changes to the user blocking feature for over a year. “Blocking public posts is pointless. It should be abandoned and replaced with a stricter form of muting,” he tweeted in early June 2023. This move was supported by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who added that the blocking feature was misleading.
Musk questioned how the block function worked, noting that anyone could open an incognito window to view posts from a public profile. While this reasoning seems valid, some users argue that the changes could benefit stalkers. Claire Waxman, Victims’ Commissioner at the Mayor’s Office of London, highlighted the dangers of this update.
“This is a dangerous decision for a social media platform and will have serious consequences for victims, especially those being harassed, and their safety,” Waxman said in a post on X. “Allowing blocked users to see posts is pandering to abusers and harassers, enabling their behaviors.”
Changes to the blocking feature on X are now live. If someone has blocked you, you’ll see a message after their first pinned post informing you that you cannot interact with their posts, follow them, or message them. Unlike incognito windows, blocked users can read public profiles in chronological order.